---- CONTENTS ----
|
Rally News - Wednesday 2nd September The Stewards Decide Following the Speyside post-event scrooterings, the Scottish Rally Championship Stewards met to discuss the matter of Jock Armstrong’s exclusion. He had been excluded from the results after it was found that his Subaru’s rear diff was not as per Group N Homologation. Jock attended the event himself and submitted his relevant paperwork, after which the Stewards announced their decision. 1) The crew will score 'zero' Scottish Rally Championship points on the Gleaner Oil & Gas Speyside Stages in both the Overall and GpN categories, and must count this 'zero' as one of the scores contributing to their Overall and GpN Championship totals.(MSA Yearbook C(d)41). 2) In addition they will score 'zero' Championship Class 10 points on the Gleaner Oil & Gas Speyside Stages and will also forfeit all relevant class 10 points retrospectively for the season (SRC 8.10 (b)) Commenting afterwards, SRC Chairman, Campbell Roy said: “It is disappointing that there was no alternative solution available in this situation. I feel that the issue was clearly one which pertained to the car's eligibility for Class 10 and GpN. The fairest outcome would have seen Jock penalised in these categories, but would not have affected his Overall Championship position.” “However the Regulations, as written, allowed the Championship Stewards no latitude in this matter, and perhaps it is something which requires further discussion with the MSA to enable a change to the MSA Yearbook, thereby avoiding a similar situation occurring in the future.” From what I can gather, there was no performance advantage to be gained from using this diff and there seems to be some confusion with regard to Part Numbers. If there is anything further to come out of this which might affect other Group N runners, I’ll let you know – JB. ** Both Jimmy Girvan and Willie Bonniwell will not be contesting this weekend’s Merrick Rally. Jimmy no longer has any chance of the title and is now conserving car and budget to have another crack next year. It’s the same with Willie. His gearbox is still no’ well so he’s going to miss the Merrick and the McRae, but has yet to make up his mind about Mull – did you see that? MMM? The three emms? Oh, please yourselves. ** Now here’s interesting, reigning BTRDA Gold Star champions Hugh Hunter and Andy Marchbank will be doing the Merrick and this provides a great chance to see how the two championships compare. As the front runner in the BRDA series Hugh will be up against all the front runners in the Scottish series. Hugh will be driving the 2001 Acroplis Rally winning ex-McRae Ford Focus '01. ** This weekend’s Merrick Rally will be based in Newton Stewart with five stages totalling 45 miles , including two in Glentrool. Three of the stages have not previously been used on the event in its current format while Palgowan has not been used for nearly ten years. Spectator Leaflets will be available from Rally HQ in the Merrick Leisure Centre in Crosbie Road, Newton Stewart, on Friday 4th September and at the Start/Finish area in Riverside Car Park on Saturday morning the 5th September. The first car will leave the Rally Start at 9 am and a full commentary will be provided at the Start and Finish by the tinkling tonsils of one James McDowall of this Parish. Arroch Hill Stage, from 9.35 am - Access to stage off unclassified road north of Glentrool village. Narrow road. Please park with all 4 wheels off road. Parking available at Kirriereoch south of stage finish. Poultrybuie Hill Stage, from 11:45 am - Access to stage off A712 east of Newton Stewart. Please park with all 4 wheels off road. Limited off-road parking available where signposted but PLEASE NOTE that this access MUST be kept clear for the use of Emergency Vehicles. Access to mid-stage off unclassified road west of Clatteringshaws Loch. Narrow road. Please park with all 4 wheels off road and do not block any access roads to the stage. Access to stage finish off A 712. Stop line 0.12 miles from main road. Glentrool Stage, from 1:50 pm - Access to stage off unclassified road north of Glentrool village. Narrow road. Please park with all 4 wheels off road. Off-road parking available on forest tracks opposite. Access to mid stage off A 714. Please park with all 4 wheels off road. Do not block track as this MUST be kept clear for emergency vehicles. First car returns to Newton Stewart at approx. 2:40 pm. ** And once the stoor on the Merrick has settled it will be time for the Colin McRae Forest Stages final round of the SRC in October and already The Bears have got more than they can handle. After last year’s superb event, the plan was to keep it low-key this year. Some hope! Corgi Models have chosen this event to launch the first of a series of Special Edition model cars all of which were owned/driven by Colin McRae during his rally career. The first car off the ‘production line’ will be his Autotest Championship winning Mini in authentic orangey/red and white, and will be followed shortly afterwards by his 1600 cc Talbot Sunbeam. The Vauxhall Nova will be next followed by the Sierra and they’re even planning to model his MkII and the R4. Sounds like Santa is going to be kept busy for the next few years. Ken Block is also coming to help launch the new Dirt II computer game and he’s bringing both his rally car and his stunt car, AND he’s going to be running through the stages in one of them. After his baptism in a MkII last year, Ken was desperate to find an excuse to come back this year and do it in a ‘proper’ car – yes, I know, but he wasn’t reared on MkIs and MkIIs like the rest of us old hands. So just when the Bears were thinking of hibernating, it would appear that this year’s rally is getting bigger all the time. ** For Sale - by one careful owner and one very careful driver - Stevie Brown’s Ford Fiesta International Group N R3 car built to Fiesta Sport Trophy regulations with all M-Sport parts and upgrades. It’s a proven class winner so if you’re interested give Stevie Brown a call at +44 (0) 77 86 86 3405, or get in touch through: info@steviebrown.co.uk. Stevie’s now looking for something else with twice the number of driven wheels! ** Another driver changing his car is Graeme Schoneville. The Peugeot 205 GTI driver will be using an Andrew Wood Motorsport Honda Civic Type-R this weekend. It’s a one-off at present, but who knows? ** In the British Rally Championship after five rounds, Dave Weston Jnr is 4th on 54 points after finishing 14th o/a on the Todd’s Leap Ulster Rally, ahead of David Bogie 6th on 49 points after finishing 11th o/a. Euan Thorburn was in Ulster too, but went off on the 9th test so he got nae points! There’s just one round left in the series and that’s at the end of this month in Yorkshire. Mark Higgins leads the series and he’s got a big handful of points more than Keith Cronin and Alastair Fisher. ** I don’t know what the organisers of the inaugural RACMSA Rally of Scotland are on, but it’s more than just petrol fumes. The latest offer for Hospitality packages includes a drinks reception in Scone Palace, a tour of the state apartments and a buffet dinner before getting to watch the first two stages from a reserved grandstand in front of the palace. On the second day guests will be use the grand hall at Blair Castle during the Service Halts for breakfast and lunch, with live TV screens and shuttle transfers to selected stages. And there’s more, the David Marshall Lodge will be the guest venue for the final day with more food and more rally action. I’m not so sure about their ‘final’ offer which states “child prices starting at just £35”. I don’t know about you but I wouldn’t pay that much to buy a child, or maybe they’re house trained and willing to work for peanuts! Oh, please yourselves, I was only kidding, but they wrote it, not me. ** |